The BloodStained Song
by Hitokiri Sounga
Summary: Three brutal murders, one missing. The woman who holds the key to it all,has no idea what happened to her friends. AbbyGibbs McGeeOC
1. The Bloody Message, And the woman it was

The Bloodstained Song

Chapter 1: The Blood-spattered Message, And the woman left behind

Gibbs was heating the wood to shape it for the hull. His hands were steady and sure as he clamped the wood to the molding block as he was preparing to set another plank to heat his cell rang and vibrated across his work table. "Gibbs" his eyebrow rose as he heard the details over the phone. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes Tony call Ducky . I will meet you there." "Yes Boss" And he hung up. He shook his head and walked up stairs grabbing his jacket on the way out. "Lets Roll kids!"Tony yelled to Ziva and Tim who were sitting in the van waiting for him.

They arrived on scene and noticed that the Leos didn't look very happy. Ducky had gotten there first and was admitted into the building. There were three women and they had been tortured and butchered horrendously. One had had her fingers cut off joint by joint and then dipped in some type of liquid. The second had been raped multiple times and then subjective to electric shock until her organs liquefied from the force of the shock. The third was perhaps the most brutal she had been hung upside down and slowly bled to death from shallow cuts in her aorta artery.

When Gibbs arrived he noticed that McGee was outside and heaving dryly. "Jethro over here!"Ducky called him into the building. On the wall was a message written in blood. The NCIS team had never seen such a language for it looked like this.

Help us. Find Toboe. She knows our murderer. please help us. I beg you Protect Toboe.

Needless to say Tony shook his head as Jimmy and Ducky loaded the bodies to go back home. When they got back to the bullpen Gibbs had them look for information of the three. "Lieutenant Colonel Augustine McKenzie,USMC" McGee pointed to the picture of the woman. She had blond hair and bright blue eyes. "Major Marie Shiba Army"Brown hair and black eyes. "Commander Eris Skyhawk Air Force" She was obviously half Indian. Her golden eyes glittered from beneath the ash brown hair. The phone rang and Gibbs picked it up and after a moment he hung up. "Abby wants to see us."The team headed down to the forensics lab.

When they arrived Abby's lab was silent and their hand rested on their weapons. "Abby ?"McGee called as he entered the lab. "Over here Tim."The others followed guns ready Abby popped out and startled the others. "Wow whats with the guns?"Gibbs set a caf-pow on the table next to the computer. "Why is it so quiet in here." Abby smiled softly. "Its OK Gibbs my CD player is broken. And I matched the blood to a missing officer named Colonel Skylar McHail. She's Navy"Tim thought for a moment. "Isn't it strange that we have officers from all of the armed forces branches? And that weird message written in the Lieutenant Colonel's blood?"

Gibbs noticed the boxes all over Abby's lab. "What are the boxes for Abby?" She smiled. "They are the officers personal computers that Tony arranged to have sent to me. But I can't get into them"They all looked at her. "They are protected by some anti hack program that nearly blew my comp but it got my CD player instead. Its incredible Gibbs it uses a fluctuating encryption code that I can't pin down. The only thing I could get before it shut the door on me was this image."She pulled up a picture of five women sitting together outside a house. The fifth woman was a red head with emerald green eyes. "I can't find who she is though she isn't military and I scanned all the police photos in the east coast so that woman is somewhere in the west."Gibbs noticed something in the lower left hand corner of the picture. "Abby whats that?" He pointed to the smudge. She raised the pixel density and contrast.

The image cleared. "A cactus?"Tony said. "Not just any cactus Tony thats a cactus that only grows in Arizona. Nice job Gibbs!"Abby hugged him and then turned to work on her computer again after handing him a printed copy of the picture. "So that woman is somewhere in Arizona now what??"Tony asked as they took the elevator up to the bullpen. Gibbs took off for Mtac and the Directors office. He walked right through the door past her assistant and into her office. "I need your help Jenny."She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow as he explained the case to her and handed her the picture . "I see Jethro. I will use Mtac to help you. But stop bursting into my office."He smiled at her and then walked out the door.

She chuckled and shook her head. "Men" and she got up and walked towards Mtac to and she noticed that in the pen below her Gibbs was setting up assignments. "Dinozzo Find out if these women have any more in common besides the picture. Ziva dig up their service records and account statuses. McGee go help Abby try and crack those computers."They rushed to do as he said and he looked to see her sitting there with a small smile on her face as she walked to the eye scanner and entered Mtac.

Jenny called out to the Director of the FBI. "Jack I need this young woman found, she may hold the key to a case I am working on." The man cocked his eyebrow and folded his hands. "OK Jenny on one condition. You let us in on the investigation." She thought for a moment then nodded. "Alright Jack. But NCIS will lead."The man nodded. "I'll find her, anything else?"she shook her head said her goodbyes and closed the connection. Gibbs was listening to McGee fill him in on the women's backgrounds. " Lieutenant Colonel Augustine McKenzie, was a puzzle-maker and satellite code encryption specialist. She became an officer on her 21st birthday and has been awarded several times. Major Marie Shiba, Half Japanese half American, Born on an army base in '82, She was an developer for an AI Defense system for us against hackers."McGee took a breath and continued.

" Commander Eris Skyhawk was a specialist for heavy weapons guidance systems. Colonel Skylar McHail is part of a division that governs information traveling through the US." Dinozzo scratched his head. "Whats that mean McGeek?" Tim sighed. "She manages the firewall that protects the military network from invaders Tony." Gibbs tossed the files on his desk and turned to the team. "So we have four women with the training to cause massive harm to the military network three dead one missing . And one bizarre message that we cant even read One civilian who could hold the key to the whole god damned mess and we have no idea who she is."Gibbs noticed that McGee was staring at the picture of Colonel McHail. "What is it McGee?" He turned to his boss. "She used to live next store to me, But she moved on base after the apartment decided not to take pets."Gibbs nodded. A familiar voice made the team turn and look up ,Jenny stood there with a smile on her face. "We have her The FBI tracked her down"She said as she entered the bullpen. "Her name is Miyu Leflight, She lives in Phoenix she is a recluse so she it took a little longer to track her down."Gibbs Grabbed his jacket and his coffee, heading for the elevator door. "Where we going boss?"Gibbs stopped . "You stay here and keep digging Dinozzo,McGee help Abby and see if you can get anything else out of that computer. Ziva keep looking for their ties ."They split up and Gibbs left . "Jethro the FBI lent us there Jet to get around and there is an agent waiting on it, It was the price for finding the girl."

When he boarded the Jet at Regan International Gibbs was irritated. There sitting on the plane was Special Agent Keller Thomson, an agent who Gibbs was coming to dislike very quickly. It was a 12 hour flight between DC and Phoenix by the end of it Gibbs was ready to shoot her to shut her up. "Look here agent Thomson we are about to visit a reclusive woman who has no idea three of her friends are dead and one missing. If you mess up my investigation by uttering one word I will personally see to it you never work with NCIS again. Do I make myself clear?" She nodded. "Crystal, Sir."As Gibbs drove silence rained within the car as they drove Keller had been useful by programing the navigator with the address. When they arrived it was a simple two story house that was painted a light blue with a darker trim. There was a red car parked out front and they could see an elder woman moving around in the house.

Gibbs approached the door and knocked a moment or so later it was pulled open. "Good morning , Can I help you?"Her face was kind . "I am special agent Gibbs, I am from NCIS, and Agent Thomson is FBI. We are looking to talk to Miyu." Keller saw the protective nature of a mother bear in her eyes. "Why do you want my baby agent Gibbs ?" Her voice was even chilly."We only want to ask her a few questions ma'am" The agents relaxed when they noticed the elder womans gaze had warmed again. "Won't you come in? Miyu has insomnia and tends to sleep during the day"Gibbs noticed a picture on the mantle .

It was all five sitting on a beach in the moonlight they were younger though the smiles were dazzling in there honesty. "When was this taken ma'am?"Gibbs noticed the womans smile. "You can rest at ease marine I won't bite, you can call me Rena."Gibbs whipped around surprised that she had known. "I know a marine when I see one." Gibbs smiled at the woman. "That was taken when my girls were about seventeen, Just before they decided to go into the military."She smiled at his cocked eyebrow. "Miyu found them one by one and dragged them home like stray dogs and then they became part of the family. And when they all decided to go into the military they have always written and called Miyu every chance they get so she doesn't feel forgotten."

Gibbs placed the photo back on the mantel and noticed the awards and medals from the other four were hung on the wall including a large portrait of the women in full dress regalia and Miyu in only a black dress standing in the middle surrounding Rena as she sat on a stool. "though they were not my blood they are my children, Miyu is the only one thats mine by blood she is my baby."They heard a door slam somewhere upstairs and Gibbs hand was on his weapon. "Well looks like Miyu knows your here." Keller looked confused.

"She sneaks around here like a ghost and only slams the door when she returns to her room as a way to tell me she where she is." She gestured to the couches. "Coffee?"They agents agreed and sat waiting for Rena's return. "So now what?"Keller asked. "We see if we can get her to talk to us."Rena came back with four cups of coffee on a tray and set it before them on the table. "I'll see if I can get Miyu to join us." She walked up to the stairs. "Miyu dear these people was to ask you some questions will you come speak to them." They heard a noise and a thump before Rena came back and sat down. "She'll be down in a few moments"

Keller was surprised to see that in real life Miyu was 5'11" and she held herself away from them and sat on the base of the steps her muscle shirt her arms were lightly muscled but beautifully tanned. Gibbs noticed the black k-bar knife strapped to her left thigh. It was in easy view and the meaning loud and clear to him. This place was hers and she would defend it. Her mother introduced them to her and they noticed that she was silent and her eyes were locked with Gibbs. Emerald green meeting Laser blue testing ,watching ,studying one another. It was was almost five minutes later that she smiled and Gibbs chuckled. She approached and sat in the black recliner chair that had been left open. "why do wish to speak with me?" Her eyes ghosted over Keller. "This brought us here."He held out the picture in an evidence bag her eyes flickered over the writing quickly ,before turning it over to see the picture.

"This is Eris' picture it was in her apartment. Why do you have it ?"before Gibbs could say anything His phone rang shrilly. "Excuse me a moment." He said and walked in to the entry hall. "Do you know what this means?" Keller showed her a picture of part of the message left behind in blood. "Yes its a secret language the others and I made to talk to one another with out anyone being able to read our messages if they were ever intercepted. This says 'Find Toboe'." Keller growled softly. Keller sighed."why you sigh?" "It was hard enough to find you,now we have this Toboe person to find as well."Miyu laughed the deep sultry notes carried in the room. "I'm Toboe its my nick name from the others."Keller chuckled happy.

Gibbs returned to them his eyes glittering in anger. "Gibbs she can read it"Miyu looked at Gibbs eyes and read the anger. He knelt before her. " I must ask you to come with us to DC." "Why?" "Your friends left behind more messages in this language and I need you to translate it." He didn't want to tell her thy had been murdered here but was surprised when she nodded. "May I bring my companion along? Can I bring my laptop? Where will I sleep and will I be safe?"Gibbs placed his hand over his heart and she unbuckled her k-bar and handed it to him. To a marine her handing him her knife signaled she put her protection,life and wellbeing into his hands with that knife. He nodded at the gesture and laid his hand over hers.

"How long should I pack for?" Gibbs thought. "Two weeks to be safe."Miyu nodded and ghosted back up the stairs. "Will you protect her Agent Gibbs?"He looked at Rena and nodded. "With my life."She smiled at him. "Very well I'll make you some things to nibble on the flight."And she happily walked into the kitchen humming. Miyu came back fifteen minutes later surprising Keller when she tossed a duffel bag onto the floor. "Will I be taken care of?"Gibbs nodded. He noticed the bag she had tossed down the stairs and chuckled at Agent Thomson. "Do all marines throw bags down the stairs?" She asked as she examined the bag.

"Only those who trust in their aim Agent Thomson."Rena said from the kitchen. A noise came from behind them and the two agents turned to see her standing with a large German Shepperd. "Agent Gibbs this is my companion. His name is Jethro."He recognized the dog immediately. And he sighed Abby was going to have a fit. "Very well. Are you ready?"She smirked and he chuckled. "Who taught you to pack?"She smiled. "Augustine did." He nodded and her Mother returned with a nap sack that smelled good and a thermos. "Coffee!! Yum!"Miyu chirped as she finished her coffee off.

They left the house fairly quickly and besides Miyu's avoidance of touching Keller she was perfectly normal. The dog seemed to remember him and had allowed him to pet it before returning to the girls side. "He normally never lets anyone but me touch him. Skylar gave him to me when she moved onto base."He noticed her fingers tighten in the dogs fur and the dog turned his head and was stroked in return. When they arrived at Phoenix International she shook her head and stopped. "Too many people"Gibbs held his arm out to her. It took her a few minutes to accept it and she clipped a leash on to Jethro's harness.

"OK lead on."She held herself close to his side. Gibbs could see the dogs training take effect as the dog sniffed and watched the people around him. He felt Miyu shake as they got boxed into a corner. "Agent Thomson. Get us an escort or a ride to the Jet. She's scared."He saw Keller nod and vanish into the crowd towards Security. It was about ten minutes later when she returned with a cart and four security officers. "Special Agent Gibbs, sorry bout the wait had to grab you guys a ride." Gibbs nodded and when one of the Guards went to touch Miyu the dog snarled and got between them. "Please don't touch me."Miyu said as she slid behind Gibbs. He lead her over to the golf-cart and watched as she got comfortable in a seat. It made his chuckle that she had the dog sit on the foot rest between her legs so that he wouldn't have to run behind them. He sat next to her and he realized she was still shaking badly. "Its alright once we are on the jet you'll only have me and Keller on board with you." he said softly he felt her shaking slow and then stop.

"OK Agent Gibbs." They were escorted onto the tarmac and right to the stairs of the jet. Keller got off and went into the jet gun drawn to check it out. She returned a moment or two later thumbs up. "OK lets go Miyu"Gibbs helped her off the cart and up the stairs. She finally relaxed as she set her bag down and sat down in a chair buckling herself in, the dog laid down at her feet. "OK Agents Thomson and Gibbs we ready?" The co-pilot asked as he shut the door and locked it tight. Gibbs nodded and spoke. "We need to get back to DC now."The man nodded and spoke into his headset. "We will be taking off in a few minutes. Miyu had opened the thermos and sniffed it before shaking her head, screwing the cap back on and handing it to Gibbs.

"Mum made it for you."Gibbs repeated her movements of unscrewing the cap and sniffing,he sighed it was strong home-brewed coffee. "I'll have to thank your mother later."Gibbs found out the Miyu loved to fly and she was happy being quiet or mumbling to her dog. "Whats your dogs name again Miyu?"Keller asked her about halfway through the trip. "His name is Jethro, Skylar said that his former master chose the name for him and I like the way it sounds."He noticed Keller scribbled the dogs name on to a note pad. "Why you wanna know?"Miyu asked her eyebrow raised. "So that I can have ID tags waiting for you on the ground." She said as she walked towards the cockpit to use the phone.

Miyu grumbled as she started playing with a set of dog tags around her neck. "What do they say?"Gibbs asked he was surprised when she removed the toe tag and handed it to him. It said _Miyu Leflight, 465-22-0108, AB- allergy to Sulfa._ He handed it back and watched her clip it back into place. "Eris insisted that I have some type of tags that in an emergency would give my vital information."Gibbs nodded and watched Miyu as she looked out the window. Her green eyes were dazed as she lost herself in thought. She was wondering why they couldn't ask the others to translate for them.

Why did they need her? She pondered this until Gibbs told her they were preparing to land. She climbed into the SUV that was waiting for them and sat silently in the back seat as Gibbs drove they arrived out side a big building and she saw the uniformed man guarding the gate and when his eyes were on her she smiled softly at him. "You finished staring Mathews?" He snapped to attention. "Sorry Sir go on through." He lifted the gate and watched them drive away his chest puffed out at the thought of the smile he got. Gibbs shook his head softly as he glanced the man in the review mirror.

They walked into the elevator and Gibbs noticed that she was shaking again. "Don't worry no one in here will hurt you." Her eyes searched his and she nodded and her shaking stopped. Miyu had been told she was an excellent judge of character she trusted Gibbs but something was bothering her about Agent Thomson and it was making her uneasy. Tony's head whipped around when he saw the elevator doors open and Gibbs step out. "Boss I found..." his words stopped cold when a woman stepped out of the elevator behind him and her fingers wrapped around Gibbs arm gently. Ziva turned to see what had made Tony speechless and saw Gibbs lead a woman gently into the bullpen and saw that her hands rested on his arm. "Agent Thomson you should go inform the director of our safe arrival." She nodded and proceeded up stairs and out of sight. "Quit staring Dinozzo."Tony shook his head and closed his mouth.

"Miyu this is part of my team Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo and Special Agent Ziva David." She waived softly. "Dinozzo, Ziva this is Miyu."Tony extended his hand it surprised Gibbs when she extended her hand hand shook his. "you can call me Tony if you want to."The dog growled when Ziva approached. "Sorry he doesn't like any women besides me." Miyu said softly as she looked for a place she could sit. Tony noticed it and rolled McGee's chair over for her. "Thank you Tony."his smile made her relax. It wasn't that she was beautiful but the fact was that Tony could see she was scared. "Where is McGee?"Ziva sighed. "Still down with Abby they are at wits end on those computers. Tony asked Miyu if she was thirsty. "Yes do you know where I could get a Root Beer?" Tony told her he would be right back and with in a few minutes he had returned with a couple cans of Root Beer and he handed her one. "Thank you"she said as she opened it and took a long sip. "Yummy!"she said happily. Gibbs got off the phone then.

"McGee is on his way up." Tim came around the corner and Jethro stood and got between him and Miyu. "OH NO! Not you!" The dog lowered his chest and prepared to jump on the man. "Jethro Leave him alone!" Gibbs was surprised that Miyu would defend someone she didn't know. The dog turned and set his fore-paws on Miyu's thighs and she stroked his shoulders and head. "Thank you Jethro"Tim saw the woman hug the dog to her before releasing him. The dog settled once again at the womans feet. "McGeek meet Miyu."Tony said as her emerald eyes meet Tim's chocolate ones. "I'm Tim McGee."Miyu nodded. " Miyu. I've heard your name before."Tim had never seen eyes like hers before, deeper then the ocean but brighter then the stars. "I used to live next door to Skylar. I gave her that dog when my girlfriend left him with me."Miyu's smile brightened her eyes. "Then I owe you greatly Tim. You gave me my best friend."he walked towards her one eye on the dog and he extended his hand, hers met him halfway and they shook hands.

Fro the moment he saw her he wanted to write, a thousand ideas were flashing through his head. "McGee bring up the message." "Yes Boss"

Miyu watched him type her mind whirling, he reminded her of her favorite character in the book she was reading. "On the plasma Miyu." Tony said and she turned to the screen to read what was left for her. Gibbs and the others watched her eyes race across the screen multiple times and then slowly stare at a set of symbols. The others turned to look at the monitor trying to figure out what she was seeing. McGee was the only one who kept his eyes on Miyu. "Thats why you didn't ask one of the others to translate for you." her quiet voice was louder then Gibbs roar in that moment to McGee.

Her head was tilted down her body shook lightly for when she looked up there were tears running down her face. Gibbs and the others turned to see her at that moment. "whats wrong?" he asked her. "Are my friends all dead?" Gibbs sighed and realized that Col. McHail must of written something in the message. "Col. McHail is MIA the others are gone. I am sorry to ask you but what does it say."Her eyes locked on to his and for them time stopped. She opened her mouth and repeated the words from the message in English to them. "_Help us. Find Toboe. She knows our murderer. Please help us. I beg you Protect Toboe." _When the last word fell from her lips she slit out the chair in a dead faint. Tony caught her before her head hit the carpet.


	2. Iron Eagle & Her First Night

The Bloodstained Song

Chapter 2:Iron Eagle & Her First Night

--_Last Chapter--_

_Her head was tilted down her body shook lightly for when she looked up there were tears running down her face. Gibbs and the others turned to see her at that moment. "whats wrong?" he asked her. "Are my friends all dead?" Gibbs sighed and realized that Col. McHail must of written something in the message. "Col. McHail is MIA the others are gone. I am sorry to ask you but what does it say."Her eyes locked on to his and for them time stopped. She opened her mouth and repeated the words from the message in English to them. "Help us. Find Toboe. She knows our murderer. Please help us. I beg you Protect Toboe." When the last word fell from her lips she slit out the chair in a dead faint. Tony caught her before her head hit the carpet. _

_--This Chapter--_

Tony set her down carefully McGee had grabbed a pillow he kept behind his desk for all nighters and set it under her head. "Now that I didn't expect."Tony said as they let her lie there after Gibbs had said she hadn't gotten any on the flight to DC. Gibbs had snatched a blanket out of his desk and covered her with it. It was almost 3o'clock when she woke again. "Jethro?"The team's heads turned or lifted to see her rub her eyes and sit up. The dog had been laying his head on her pillow moved into her line of sight. "there you are" Miyu said as she hugged the dog . Her green eyes found Gibbs first.

"Can I see my friends?"Gibbs nodded and held his hand out for her, She grasped it as she got up and she picked up the pillow and then the blanket before setting them near the corner on the desk. Gibbs lead her to the elevator and wasn't surprised when the dog followed. He pressed the morgue button and down they went. As they rode he noticed she was crying quietly again. "I'll have to tell mother when this whole thing is finished." She caught his confused look. "If I told her now she would have me come home and I could be of no help to you there."Though he said nothing she knew he understood her,he reminded her so much of her elder brother.

When they got off the elevator Gibbs had told her to wait out in the hall for a moment. Miyu nodded and leaned against the wall as he walked through the doors. "Jethro I was just going to call you . I found something interesting." Gibbs pointed to the figure outside the door. "Ducky she is a friend of those three women on your slabs"As Gibbs filled Ducky in Jimmy had stepped out of the elevator to see Miyu standing there. "Who are you?"He had startled her and she yipped. "I'm sorry ."

She smiled at him and he noticed the dog. "thats OK I'm Miyu I am waiting to see my friends."before he could say anything more the doors opened to both Gibbs and Ducky. "Miyu this is Dr. Donald Mallard" Miyu stepped forward and her shaking hand caught his steady one. "You can call me Ducky dear most here do. I see you have already met my assistant Jimmy Palmer."She smiled slightly at Jimmy. "My name is Miyu, Nice to meet you Ducky."The old Scotsman felt the young womans silent tremors and placed her other hand on top of there clasped ones. "One moment and I will show you your friends."

Unknown to Miyu, Gibbs had told Ducky a bit about her and he had moved the sheets to only display their faces and nothing of the bodies. When she saw them just laying there he watched her reach out towards them there names falling from her lips as her tears flowed. Then she approached them her fingers cam into contact with one of the three's hair. "Augie? Did you finally find your soul bound in paradise?"She moved on to another of the three, her fingers tugging gently on the womans hair. "Eris? Who's gonna help me find a boyfriend?"She moved to the last of the three, her fingers once again tugging on the hair. "Mari? Did you find the peace you fought for?"She stood there crying before she turned and dove into the closest pair of arms to sob. "I've got her Jethro I'll bring her up later."Ducky wrapped his arms around the sobbing woman and was stroking her hair to try and calm her.

Keller turned when the elevator came up but noticed it was just Gibbs. "Where is the girl and her dog?"He ignored her. "Ziva never mind digging for the connection I know what it is"The team looked at him for answers. "Miyu's mother told me that Miyu had found them one by one and dragged them into her family, She helped them study for the ASFAB and when they passed it she prodded them into doing something about it."The team nodded and they noticed that Gibbs was headed for the other elevator out of the building. "Boss?"Tony asked. "Coffee"was all he said as the doors shut. The team stood there in shock for a second before going back to work. Keller was angry and she needed to know where the girl and her dog were for she was running out of time. Tony quietly called Gibbs cell. "Boss where is Miyu?" Tony wasn't prepared for the reply. '_With Ducky She saw her friends'_ Tony sighed and hung up.

Down in autopsy Ducky had calmed Miyu down and had made them a pot of tea to his intense enjoyment she was perfectly happy to sit and drink tea while listening to him tell her his stories. A set of men cam in through receiving with a body bag. Miyu was quiet as they handled the paperwork and she noticed that Ducky's silver clip board was next to her, he had told her that most of the paperwork for bodies was kept in there. She stood and picking up the clip board and a pen she found on the table she followed him into receiving. Jimmy realized he had forgotten Dr. Mallard's clipboard when Dr. Mallard started dictating to him the information off the transfer papers.

Jimmy realized he heard someone writing quickly behind him, he saw that Miyu was writing what Dr. Mallard said down. He signaled her to come up next to him when the doctor took a break from talking for a moment. He saw they she had filled what the doctor had said in she had a clear style of writing. Dr. Mallard had started talking again and her hand flew across the page taking notes for him. Jimmy didn't stand there to watch her write after that he transferred the body from one gurney to another as the doctor was signing the papers.

"OK Mr. Palmer let's get..."Ducky's words trailed off when he noticed that the body was transferred and Jimmy was rolling the gurney back into autopsy and he noticed Miyu was standing with his clipboard held to her chest his favorite pen behind her ear. "You left it the lab, when I walked out you had just started talking so I copied what you said. Did I mess things up?"he held his hand out for the board and she handed it over. He opened it and besides a few small errors on placement she had been spot on,her writing was clean,clear and a simple pleasure to read. "nothing that I can't fix with a new piece of paper and a pen, Thank you for taking notes for me."She smiled and took the arm he offered as they walked back into the lab. "Can I help you more?"Ducky looked at her and realized she got joy out of helping him. "Here Miyu let me show you how to fill one of these out properly"As they had started the paperwork Ducky discovered Miyu was highly adept at filing and organizing things for easy access.

Ducky had turned on the radio and the Cd played river-dance and you could hear the taps. As Jimmy taught Miyu to fill out paperwork Ducky was calling Gibbs to ask him a few questions. "This is fun, Ducky can I help you while I am here?"She asked him when he hung up the receiver. "I don't mind its nice to have an extra pair of hands down here, on the plea that you will make out some sort of filing system my former assistant Jerald kept his own system and its bothersome to go digging for papers all the time."Miyu nodded and hugged him before kissing his cheek making them both blush. "Jethro look I made a friend!"She danced in circles with the dog giggling and tapping her feet to the music. "Come my dear I'll take you back upstairs now." she nodded the glitter in her eyes still dim but brighter. "Bye Jimmy it was nice to meet you"He nodded and smiled,waiving. "see you tomorrow Miyu" she followed Ducky to the elevator.

She was astounded in her self that she had buried her pain until this was all over and then she would mourn. They arrived upstairs and walked into the bullpen Tony held up a cold Root Beer and Miyu's eyes glittered. "want one Miyu?" She nodded and sat in the chair that had been left for her. "Thank you tony I was really thirsty."Keller was grumbling when she walked down the stairs until she caught sight of the girl sitting next to Dinozzo's desk. She walked quickly into the bullpen to stand before the girl. "Your coming with me to stay in an FBI safe-house."Miyu stood to her full hight locking down on the smaller woman. "No I will not."and that was all she could say for Gibbs strode in at that moment cup of coffee in hand. "Miyu is under my protection and she stays where I put her."Miyu nodded and sat back down feeling safe now that Gibbs was back.

Keller stomped back up stairs to make another phone call to her boss, Gibbs was making this very difficult for her. When she left Gibbs tossed something to Miyu. "Thats yours it stays with you at all times"She open her hands to see a cell phone it was a cool newer one called a lingo. "Thank you"Gibbs smiled slightly as she opened it and started playing with it. "Where do I sleep tonight?"He pointed at Dinozzo and then went back to his paper work. Tony and Miyu looked at one another and she poked his arm, Tony chuckled and poked her back. Miyu chuckled as got up and walked to her bag and unzipped one of the side pouches and pulled out a slim black book the red lettering was only partially visible. she sat next to Tony's desk and open her book. Tim came back up from Abby's lab with a printed image and a dark look. "We can't crack the firewall protecting any of the computers, and the one we thought was a tower was actually a server but we can't get into that ether all we get is this symbol." he handed it to Gibbs before walking and plopping into his desk chair. Gibbs looked at it a moment. "Miyu do you know what this means?"Miyu's head snapped up and she got up and came to the front of his desk before taking the picture that he held out for her,she gasped.

"Where did you get this?"she set her book on his desk and held the picture with both hands ,Tim sat straight . "You know what it means?"she nodded and she took a deep breath before facing him to explain. "It represents the five of us. The eagle represents Eris cuz her last name is Skyhawk. The dog is Marie cuz her last name is Shiba witch is a type of Japanese dog. The nine-tailed fox represents Augustine its her favorite thing. The dragon is Skylar because its noble nature reminded her of her elder sister."Gibbs noticed that she had not mentioned one.

"And the last one?" she smiled, turned and walked to a spot that the could all see her before turning and lifting her shirt and bra to reveal the beautiful winged white wolf that covered her left shoulder blade a black banner beneath it with words written in that bizarre language. "Its me" She recovered the tattoo and turned to look them in the face, Gibbs could see the wheels in her mind turning. "You have there computers?"Tim nodded "are they connected or can they be brought to me? Or can I connect to them from here?"Gibbs could see the flicker of uncertainty on her eyes. "McGee ether bring them up here or have Abby connect them down there."Gibbs said and Tim bolted towards the lab.

Tim bolted into the elevator and pressed the down button pretty hard. Abby whirled around at the sound of running feet when Tim slid into her lab. "Gibbs wants all the computers and the server connected and routed to the bullpen."He was busily connecting the whites and setting the DVI cables. "Why? We can't get in why does he want to see them?" Tim stopped for a moment. "There is a woman up there who was friends, with the victims and she maybe able to shed some light on this puzzle for us."Abby jumped in and helped him before they called Gibbs to tell him it was ready . While Tim and Abby were preparing Miyu had set her lap top up on Tim's desk and had taken over his spot on the router and was waiting for a signal from Tim. She was plugging in her wireless headset when Gibbs got the call. "They say its ready." Miyu had stated typing and with in a moment the seal appeared on the larger plasma screen.

She stepped out from behind the desk. She was putting her head set on when Tim and Abby walked up. The heard the same message that had been driving Abby nuts since she had plugged the first one in. "password please" Abby saw Miyu but Miyu didn't see her. "Deep Six"The whole team looked at her and was surprised by the howl from the wolf. "password accepted"The seal broke apart and the wolf flew alone before the screen cleared to show a desktop. "I'm in" Abby noticed the dog and squealed "Jethro!"Miyu turned to see Abby hugging her dog and petting him. "who are you? How do you know Jethro?"Tim had told her that he had had to give the dog away when his apartment refused to take pets he said he had given it to the woman next door who had someone who needed a friend. "I gave him to Tim"Miyu smiled and extended her hand the tremor slight but noticeable. Abby grasped the offered hand into a firm handshake.

They watched her navigate the system by voice with Tim explaining to Gibbs,Tony and Ziva. "Program open file recovery" they watched the computer bring up a list and when she tried to open one the password box reappeared. "she must have been trying to hide something from anyone else." She muttered something in the language and a document came up also written in the language. "Project Iron Eagle"she sounded awed but also sad. "thats why they took you away"Tony poked her and she turned to him. "they are all dead and its my fault!"she wailed as she started to cry . Tony wrapped her in his arms and she clung to him. "How is it your fault Miyu?"She looked up at him her eyes meeting his. "Project Iron Eagle was my idea and since they made it work, someone killed my friends for it."Gibbs was bewildered. "What is project Iron Eagle?"Miyu turned and Tony let her go. "Project Iron Eagle was something I originally designed for the book I am writing, but the girls decided it was a sound idea and between the five of us we developed it. Its a defense system against hackers trying to get into the government computer systems, I was supposed to run it quietly from home while they made sure no one discovered Iron Eagle's existence. Someone wants to make sure Project Iron Eagle never comes on line."

Gibbs and his team were shocked to hear the information. "Tim and Abby got a microscopic taste of him when they tried to get into the computers owned by the group."Tim remembered the guy who used his book to kill and understand her pain. "What was your book based on?"Gibbs asked Miyu gestured to the book still sitting on his desk and he picked it up and opened it to the title page and shook his head. "Boss?"Tony asked before Gibbs turned the book around and the title was displayed to the whole group. 'Deep Six' Tim blushed a deep red. "I borrowed his characters and added one of my own to the mix..."she stopped mid sentence when Tony started to laugh. Gibbs noticed the look on her face and hit him with the book. "I was gonna send a piece of it to Mr. Gemcity to see if he wanted to read more." she said quietly,Tony realized he had messed up the fragile self-confidence she had. "OK we can work more on this tomorrow people its nine thirty."Gibbs had decided to send Miyu to Tim's house instead. He looked at McGee and pointed to Miyu and was pleased to see his immediate nod.

Tim watched Miyu pack up her laptop after shutting the computers down remotely. He had been surprised to hear that she had written a book based off of his own. He gently reached out and touched her arm she looked up at him and her held his arm out for her. She smiled and picked up her bags and said her goodbyes before calling her dog and following him out to his car. "Would it be rude of me to ask if I could read your book?"she shook her head. "I would actually like someone's opinion who isn't on one side or the other. He was surprised she would let him read it . "You like Tom E. Gemcity's books a lot?"She nodded smiling slightly. "Sky brought that book back for me when she brought me Jethro, I started reading then I couldn't help but write my own spin off."

When they arrived at his apartment they tip-toed quietly past every one with her dog. After they had gotten inside he realized he only had one bed and there wasn't a couch. "Oh boy"he mumbled while she took a shower. She popped out twenty minutes later with a soft smile on her face. "I feel better"he smiled as they traded places he went into the shower and she the kitchen. As he was in the shower he heard a soft knock. "yes?"her muffled voice came through the door. "Are you hungry?"He realized he was starving he hadn't eaten all day. "Starving whats on your mind?" "Hold on let me see what you got hidden in the kitchen"he was scrubbing his hair when her voice called again. "You like steak casserole?"He couldn't remember if he had ever had it. "I'll try it!" He had no idea she was jumping up and down quietly. "OK it should be about 15-20 minutes."he was surprised she wanted to cook, she had to be tired.

When he walked out of the bathroom drying his hair he heard her humming in his kitchen as she cooked, he stood by the door watching her take the casserole dish out of the oven and set it onto a folded set of kitchen towels. "mm smells good" she smiled and dished him a plate and handed it too him. After she got her own plate she sat next to him on the pair of barstools at his counter. He took his first bite and his eyes widened. It was good. It took him three plates before he was full. "That was good Miyu thank you." she smiled at his complement. "OK you get the bed and I'll take the floor" he said a fem minutes later. She had peeked into his room and noticed the size of his bed. "we are both adults Tim I it would be against all the manners I ever learned for me to steal your bed, Its big enough for the two of us. Or I'll take the floor it that makes you uncomfortable"

She didn't see his blush as she picked up the plates and set them in the sink. "I'll do the dishes you cooked."she smiled and moved over so that she could dry them for him. It took them about ten minutes total to clean all the dishes and put them away. "Do you mind if I started reading your book now I'm not quite tired yet?"She nodded left the room or a moment and came back holding a thick bound stack of papers. "This is it" "Whats the title?" "Silver Fangs & Crimson Blades"She handed him the book and went to the other side of the bed and crawled in, Her dog hopped on to the foot of the bed and curled up. She had taken the farthest side from the door and mumbled a good night before he heard her deep breaths of sleep. He dove into her book to see how she interpreted the world he had created.


	3. Dawn Breaks & Miyu's Tragedy

The Blood-Stained Song

Chapter 3:Dawn Breaks & Miyu's Tragedy

_--Last Chapter--_

"_Do you mind if I started reading your book now I'm not quite tired yet?"She nodded left the room or a moment and came back holding a thick bound stack of papers. "This is it" "Whats the title?" "Silver Fangs & Crimson Blades"She handed him the book and went to the other side of the bed and crawled in, Her dog hopped on to the foot of the bed and curled up. She had taken the farthest side from the door and mumbled a good night before he heard her deep breaths of sleep. He dove into her book to see how she interpreted the world he had created._

_--This Chapter--_

Miyu woke to a ringing on Tim's bedside table she wiggled a bit and snatched the cell right off the table opened it and gave an inquisitive noise into it. "McGee?is that you?"Miyu woke a little more to realize it was Tony. "No it not McGee, Its Miyu I'm still sleepy and when I wake up later I bring Tim in, Tell Gibbs I couldn't sleep. He knows why. Be in around noon"and she hung up on him. she put the phone back on the night table and curled back up to Tim. Her last conscious thought was. 'He's so warm' Tim woke an hour of so later and noticed his position with a gulp. Miyu was laying against his chest her arm around his waist he could feel her fingers tangled in his muscle shirt,their legs tangled and one of his arms wrapped over her hip and the other supported her back and came to rest on her side. He tried not to tense when she started to move a little bit later.

"Tim?" her voice rasped softly and he open his eyes to look at her she smiled at him and hugged him warmly, her cheek rubbed against his for a moment. "I hungry let's go cook up some breakfast"He couldn't resist the chuckle that bubbled from his throat. Her blood red hair lay around her in soft waves as she carefully untangled herself from him and stretched out. After they ate breakfast for Tim had made French toast and they had both had changed clothes,Miyu had asked Tim if he would brush her hair for her. He nodded and she handed him her brush, she made a few soft mewls of pleasure when he was brushing and it made him blush. He watched her put her hair up into a high braided tail. They were both startled out of the trance when Miyu's cell sang out the military bugle. She picked it up and answered without checking the caller ID. "Good Dawn Gibbs!" She listened to him talk for a couple minutes. "OK I understand bye bye Gibbs"He was wondering what had been said.

"Gibbs said eat and grab your gear cuz as soon as we get there your movin' out."With that they dashed around and got ready Miyu decided it was safe to leave Jethro at Tim's apartment because she didn't want him tossed out of his apartment for having her dog there. She had noticed a couple things he left behind and she scooped them up as she walked by. When they were driving up to the gate he remembered. "shit my badge and my phone are on the table at home." He heard her giggle and saw her pull something out of her cargo pocket. "here Tim you left these on the bed table this morning, it was his phone and badge. "Your a lifesaver Miyu."she went beck to laughing softly while he presented his badge to the gate guard.

She held out the ID Gibbs had tossed at her with the phone and she poked Tim when they walked into the elevator. When they walked into the bullpen Tony greeted them. "Morning McGeek,Miyu"she noticed his unusual untonyness at it worried her. "Tony you OK?"she asked after Ziva,Gibbs and Tim left. He looked up and she noticed the faint scent of salt on his cheeks. She felt her protecting nature stir and writhe from within. "What or who did this?"her voice was quiet but the glitter in her eyes spoke of a hidden strength. Tony told her about his girlfriend, and about his cover all she did was listen to him and when he was finished she actually wrapped him in a hug. "You'll find a woman who will love you for you Tony, I'm sure of it besides I'd bet my prised sword that you'll marry before I do."His eyes locked onto hers and with a smile she poked him and was poked back. "Bye Tony I'm off to Ducky's lab."she left him dumb-struck for a moment before he started to laugh. She was right and he knew it.

Miyu poked the button for the elevator and waited for it to open again. She opened the doors to the lab with a cheerful. "Ducky!" She laid her head on his shoulder before letting him go back to sanitizing his scalpels. She made a pot of tea the way his liked it before setting a cup next to it before walking into the records room, diving into the cabinets and thanking the goddess for the labeler that Jimmy had left for her. After Ducky finished his work he noticed the pot of tea and smiled. She set her laptop up and was using it to play music as she filed and sorted, her laptop was hooked by wireless connection to the computers in Abby's lab and it was running the file recovery program in the background. She had worked the system out in her head and was going to make it work. It was lunch time when Ducky stuck his head in and noticed she was about half way through as she typed something on her computer while reading out of an open folder. "Don't worry ducky I'm only cataloging his name, birthday ,how he died and his SS#."

She said as she closed the file and set it into a hanging file-folder in the open drawer. "you work fast my dear, And whats this catalog your working on?" she explained that it was part of a program that had been made for the morgue to keep track of all the bodies it had. But she had modified it so all he had to do was type in a name or type of death and it would give him the file's location. Down side was she had to build the database from scratch, so thats why he was seeing her poke her nose into the files as she put them away . "brilliant Miyu" he said and she blushed soundly. "Not really ducky I just modified someone else's program to suite your needs."She smiled at him and was about to dive back in to work when he stopped her. "its lunch time my dear lets eat then you can encase yourself in files again"His joke wasn't lost on her and she giggled all the way up to Abby's lab. "Abby dear I was wondering if you would like to join us for lunch?"Ducky called over her music,Abby noticed Miyu and waived and was surprised to receive a wave in return.

Ducky walked both women down to the restaurant a block away. "Here Miyu Gibbs asked me to give this to you."It was an envelope she open it and her eyes widened. "Gibbs said thats your allowance for the week" She purred a thank you before taking a little bit out and putting it into her wallet. The rest she folded up and slid into a small pocket on her cargo shorts. They were getting looks from other men and Ducky could see the envy in their eyes. As they walked into the restaurant the girls started talking about Jethro as Ducky was in the restroom. The waitress approached them and they ordered their drinks.

"So does Jethro sleep all day?"Abby asked Miyu nodded. "But we run all night" Miyu looked up when Ducky returned his fingers were damp and he wiped them on a napkin as the waitress brought the girls drinks. He ordered his and they asked for a moment to look for their food. As they sat Ducky decided to ask Miyu a question that had been on his mind in the week she had been with them. "Miyu I was wondering if you had any experience in administrative."She nodded. "I used to help my mum by going to work with her and doing most of the paperwork."Abby poked her and she tensed for a moment then she poked back. "Silly Abby"Miyu laughed.

Then the waitress returned to take there orders. After she left Miyu's phone played the song 'the dance' from Garth brooks. "Yes Tony?"she listened to him talk. "I'm with Ducky and Abby we are having lunch together"She went quiet again before laughing. "bye Tony" They looked amused at her. "Tony freaked out when he went down to the lab and found no one there"Ducky laughed. "what?" "Abby is referring to the music you chose at Tony's ring tone." "It reminds me of him,"was all she said. After lunch they walked back Miyu in a very good mood because she was making friends. But her thoughts drifted back to the time the girls and her had dome the same thing. She shook the sadness off she kept repeating that she would mourn when their killer was behind bars.

She dove back into her work after Abby said she would deliver Tony's gift. Abby popped up to the bullpen noticing that the other were back and Tony was the only one without lunch. She set the bag before him and his eyes met hers. "Present from Miyu she figured that you would never make it out for lunch" He dove into the bag and began to inhale the food. Abby left after hugging Gibbs headed for her lab. Miyu was entering more data when the program popped up to say it had finished recovering the files deleted off the hard drive. Before she could check what is had brought back, her email alert went off and she checked her email. She opened it and it had a fairly large attachment.

She opened it and as she read her eyes widened. She downloaded the attachment and opened it. There on the screen was a video of Skylar being eviscerated. It continued to repeat its self until the shock wore off and she screamed it was a cry of pure terror and the mournful howl that followed it. In the bullpen two floors up the sound came through loud and clear, the team looked at one another. "Miyu" they bolted towards the elevator and when it stopped on Abby's floor they were surprised when the doors opened Abby jumped in and hit the door close switch and smacked the lab floor button. When they ran into the lab Miyu was sitting on the floor curled into a ball whimpering, while Ducky was staring at her Laptop.

Tim went to Miyu and she clung to him her tears soaking his shoulder. The other watched the video and figured out what happened. "The poor child was staring at the video when I came in to check on her after she screamed." Abby had walked over and had started to pet Miyu's hair. Gibbs told Tim to take Miyu back to his place and not to come to work until Miyu was ready to come with him. He nodded and it took him and Abby to get her down the stairs and into his car. "I got it Abby Gibbs is going to need you to track that bastard down."She nodded and after one last pat to Miyu's hair she left. It took him twenty minutes to get her up the stairs and into the apartment. "Tim"her voice was raspy. "was that real?"He didn't know what to say but his mouth did it for him. "We won't know until Abby tests it."he got her to take a shower and brushed her hair for her, once it was dry she asked to go to bed.

_--At the Lab--_

The group was watching the video when Ducky noticed something. "Wait a moment, it looks like she is talking but we hear nothing." the others looked closer, and sure enough her mouth was moving. Abby typed quickly her video getting brighter and a picture of Skylar and started the facial match program. "I can't read lips."McGee said, the others watched it about five more times when Tony and Abby began to speak. "_Miyu, our deaths are not your fault. No matter what happened to us. Fight, do not let your voice be silenced, We are with you always, I am commin' home kitty-kat."_They all looked at the two in shock. "I learned how to read lips from Abby" Abby didn't have to say a thing. Then the computer beeped twice. "Its her facial recognition confirms it" the group lowered there heads as Gibbs was writing in a notepad. "I am going to deliver the message to Miyu" And with that the group parted ways.


	4. A hidden past & the power of a memory

The Bloodstained Song

Chapter 4: A hidden past & the power of a memory

--_Last Time_--

"_Miyu, our deaths are not your fault. No matter what happened to us. Fight, do not let your voice be silenced, We are with you always, I am commin' home kitty-kat."They all looked at the two in shock. "I learned how to read lips from Abby" Abby didn't have to say a thing. Then the computer beeped twice. "Its her facial recognition confirms it" the group lowered there heads as Gibbs was writing in a notepad. "I am going to deliver the message to Miyu" And with that the group parted ways._

--_Now--_

Gibbs arrived at Tim's apartment in only ten minutes. He knocked on the door gently and Tim answered after a few minutes. "Boss? Why are you here?"Tim was throughly confused."Colonel McHail left Miyu a message before her death." Tim's eyes softened before opening the door to let Gibbs in. "She's in my room,she said she wanted to go to sleep" As both men entered the bed room they noticed the misshapen heap in the middle of Tim's bed. "Miyu, Gibbs is here." part of the blanket moved to revel the woman in question. "Miyu, Skylar left you a message ,before her death. Here"He handed her the scrawled note he had taken for her. Her fingers gently clasped the note and withdrew under the covers.

After a moment or two they heard quiet sniffles indicating she was crying again. "They don't blame me Tim. Thank you Gibbs" was the watery reply. She sat up and Gibbs noticed the true length of Miyu's hair. "If you can give me tonight I will begin again tomorrow"He nodded and she crawled out of bed and wrapped Gibbs in a hug. "I wish I had a father like you."she mumbled. Gibbs hugged her tighter as his eyes misted gently before he released her. He smiled at her she returned his smile before turning to hug Tim. "Thank you"He nodded and she let him go,as she turned to offer Gibbs a cup of coffee he was gone. "Bye Gibbs." She smiled before turning to look at Tim he could see the determination in her eyes.

"Tomorrow"He nodded she noticed he was nearly finished with her book. She was slightly nervous on if he liked it. But tonight she was trying to battle her sadness and grief. Tim got up and surprised her by wrapping her in his arms she turned into him crying. It was a while later that she fell asleep crying and Tim nodded off stroking her hair. For that night Miyu felt utterly safe. At four am a song from her phone woke her it was 'Moonlight Sonata' she answered without checking the caller id. "Ducky?"She listened to him for few minutes."Yes Gibbs gave me the note it helped."After she had said her goodbyes and hung up she noticed Tim was watching her through sleepy eyes.

"Sleep a little more Tim I'll make breakfast. I have a feeling we are going to need it" he smiled sleepily and closed his eyes and she heard his soft breaths. She leaned over and laid a soft kiss on his forehead, padding out of the room silently she scavenged the kitchen and found only cereal to eat. She waited fifteen extra minutes before waking Tim and prodding him into a shower.

Her heart hurt but her mind was spinning, she was going to spend the morning finishing Ducky's files then she was going to spend the rest of the day watching the videos on the computers and combing through the hard drives. After Tim had eaten Miyu asked if they could go in early because she couldn't sleep. He nodded and took her to the office he could see she was going to bury herself in work for the day. She hadn't even put her hair up and it was flowing freely around her lower thighs. She hugged him and disappeared into the elevator headed for the lab. He leaned back in his chair and settled himself for a short nap until Gibbs got there.

When Miyu left the elevator on Ducky's floor and walked into the lab,she stopped for a moment remembering the video before growling. "I will find you, I swear on own soul even if it is the last thing I do in the world I will find you." She mumbled to the empty room as she turned on the lights,got out the tea things from the cubbyhole Ducky had shown her and made herself a pot of tea. She turned on the radio, stuck in a CD and started to sing along. She left the file room door open so that she could hear the stereo while she worked. She dug into the remaining file cabinets and buried herself in the filing.

It was almost five hours later when Miyu heard someone enter the lab she emerged from the file room to see Jimmy standing there. "Hi Jimmy" "Dr. Mallard will be here in an hour, Will you help me clean up?" He had figured that she was working to keep her mind off what had happened yesterday. "Sure let me finish the files I only have a few left"She smiled and he noticed the grateful look in her eyes. "Alright I'll get the supplies" And with that she vanished into the room to finish her work and she hummed along to her CD and she was happy there was a few hundred songs on that mp3 disk. It was about ten minutes later when she left filing with head held high.

"All Done" He handed her a spray bottle and a role of paper towels as he started spraying the counters. She attacked the tables wit out being told. As they dove in to their work a song started that Miyu couldn't help but sing to , but what surprised her was when Jimmy joined into the duet. The song was called T_he Heart Won't Lie. _They sang as they worked Jimmy never wiser to the fact he was now one of the few Miyu trusted. They worked steadily as the music played until Miyu stopped washed her hands and made Ducky his morning pot of tea, then turned and went back to cleaning the scalpels.

When Ducky walked into his lab fifteen minutes later he was shocked to see the lab glitter slightly. "Mr. Palmer I applaud you on your cleaning skills." he said when Jimmy walked out of the filing room. "Thank you but I had help"Ducky looked at him confused, before he noticed the fresh pot of tea on his desk. Miyu peeked out from behind the filing room door her eyes bright even though the sadness lingered in the depths. He smiled at her and she giggled at him." I prodded Tim in to bringing me in early, and I finished the filing system"

Ducky chuckled at her confession. After a cup of tea he proceeded to continue to teach Miyu to fill out the paper work on incoming and outgoing victims.

They were about to have some more tea when the receiving bell rang. Jimmy went to answer the door as Ducky held Miyu back. "you will need this my dear" he handed her an NCIS lab coat, he saw her eyes widen before she hugged him. "Thank you"he nodded and patted her head. She put on the coat and picked up the clip board before following him. It was after the body was checked in that Ducky realized Miyu had flicked on Jimmy's recorder and was setting the tools up for him as he finished his initial findings. She had laughed when Jimmy nearly fell on his rump, but had been quick to help him to his feet. "you OK?"Jimmy nodded embarrassed by her concern. Miyu helped him make the file on the john doe and then watched as it was handled and packed for Abby. "I wish I could help more Ducky"she said as Jimmy finished, then she went on to tell him that she was going up to Abby's lab to work on the computers. "Bye Ducky!"she waived as she and Jimmy left the lab. As they rode the elevator they talked about their favorite music.

When they arrived the music was blaring and Abby whipped around and her face fell. "Oh its you"Miyu stuck her tongue out. "Why you looking for Gibbs?" Abby nodded and noticed Jimmy and the box. "Oh show me whats in it?" As Abby and Jimmy were taking care of the box Miyu walked over to the computers and rested her hand in the cases and traced the engraved animals on them. When she looked up Abby was watching her and Jimmy was leaving. "bye Jimmy" she waived at him and Abby turned to her. "So ready to show me whats hiding in those computers?" Miyu nodded with a grin. "Can I have my laptop back?"

Abby nodded and got the evidence bag it was in, she opened it and held the bag. "I pulled all I could off of it" Miyu nodded before taking the laptop from Abby and setting it up and hooked it into the network. "OK lets see" she started typing as Abby rolled a second chair out of her office so they could watch together.

Miyu linked up with Abby's computer and started clicking on the movie files stored on Skylar's hard drive. They had watched 12 movies before Abby realized who she was seeing on the plasma screen. "I wish you could meet my partner My-My despite his antics I fell in love with him,when he lay there so close to death it took all I had not to whisper I loved him in his ear."It was Cate she couldn't believe it. Cate was sitting on a cliff with Miyu and they were talking. Abby could see the trees and massive forest below. "I want to kitty any male who could make you fall head over paws has to have a heart of gold, I wish one night I will find that one who makes my soul sing. Who is this Ari guy you told me of? Whats your boss like?" Abby was crying seeing Cate so relaxed and smiling. "He's a marine he growls and grumbles, but he is a good man when I first got there I had a small crush on him." Miyu giggled in the video.

Cate pulled something out of her jacket pocket it was wrapped in something tat looked like a scarf. "This is for you Miyu, In case anything happens to me you have to take care of Sky and the others."Miyu nodded and hugged Cate. "Please be careful I'm not ready to be pack leader yet" Cate tugged on her braid and Miyu laughed. "Silly Kitty, and thank you for the blade" Miyu traced the marine emblem on the hilt. the video ended there and Miyu noticed Abby's tears. "Abby why you cry?"Abby told her all she had known about Cate Miyu realized that they had never known. "Oh goddess I have to show this to the others"Abby nodded and she set it up and they went up stairs to the bullpen.

Gibbs was in a bad mood Keller had been pestering him about turning the girl over to her. He heard the elevator and noticed the two he had been waiting to see were walking towards him. "Abby?"he noticed that she had been crying and it riled his protective nature Abby was his. "you need to watch something, you all do"Abby raised her voice so that the whole team heard. Miyu looked ashamed and had her head lowered. Miyu walked over to Tim's desk as they gathered around the plasma a sew moments of typing and they were watching the video. When it ended they all turned to look at Miyu she had her head down. "I didn't know" she mumbled Gibbs saw her shift and knew she would bolt. "Its alright Miyu you couldn't have known.

"She loved him Gibbs, she once had a crush on you, she thought Tim was cute but too young if Skylar hadn't been her younger sister. Then I wouldn't have met the woman who was the strongest woman I knew next to my mum" Miyu was crying but there was no fear in her eyes just a pain of loss. "And when we lost her I couldn't even go to her funeral, the depression afterwards almost killed me. Kitty was family she came over for Christmas she had her own mug near the coffee maker. She was family in every way that mattered, When she died I retreated from the world... I would have given anything to see her one last time"Tony surprised everyone by wrapping her in a tight hug and Gibbs could hear him telling Miyu about Cate from his point of view, and him telling her he had loved her too.


	5. Taken & Escape

The Bloodstained Song

Chapter 5: Taken & Escape

Miyu ran through the pitch black park her loping stride eating the distance quickly, as she saw a path headed into the denser section of the park she took it. She really hated that FBI agent at this moment as she jumped over on to the opposite side of a deep ravine, climbed the other side of it panting softly as she stood and continued to run losing herself deeper into the wooded section of the park. As she climbed up a large leafy tree she sat in the darkness panting quietly and remembered how this whole mess started.

-The Navel Yard 120 hours earlier (5 days ago)-

Miyu still felt bad having not realized that Tony was the man Kitty had fallen for. But she had been told to let it go when she got back to Tim's apartment that night. The next morning Gibbs had taken the team to talk to the base staff again when Miyu had revealed that Augustine had sent her a letter with her current lover's name in it. Miyu was left alone so she started towards the elevator that would take her to Ducky's lab, when Agent Keller showed up with two large male agents behind her. "Wait Ms. Leflight I need you to come with me." Miyu was weary and started to back away. "Get her" Keller said and the two agents grabbed Miyu before she could get more then a few steps away. Keller injected a clear solution into the arm the nearest agent held, as Miyu felt her mind going dark she whimpered. _Help me Jethro _Was her last thought before everything went black.

When Miyu awoke her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, she had one hell of a headache and her vision wouldn't focus completely. She noticed that there was some water in a glass on the bedside table. She picked it up and drank it now she knew why Gibbs hated the FBI. The door opened and Keller walked threw it with a swagger. "Good morning Miyu sorry about the headache. Tell me about Project Iron Eagle"Miyu shook her head and Keller's face went from happy to enraged. "tell me about Iron Eagle!"Again Miyu shook her head and before Miyu knew what had happened Keller had taken a step forwards and slapped her. Miyu's head snapped to the side and her world went black. The next day was the same way Keller would ask about Iron eagle, Miyu wouldn't talk and Keller would hit her. It was the third day of Miyu's capture as she awoke from this morning's habitual beating. Miyu laid still as she awoke her eyes barely opened as she scanned the room her breathing remaining steady and deep. She heard the locks click and her eyes closed as she reached out with all her other senses. "The girl is still out, Keller must have hit her pretty hard." She only heard one pair of foot steps,she opened her eyes a sliver to see the man had his back to her and the door was ajar slightly. She noticed his gun was holstered within easy reach. She moved slowly and she noticed the pitcher of water he had brought. She waited until he had bent down to clean up the glass she had dropped when Keller and hit her, before she made her move she struck with the speed of a trained killer. She'd hit him over the back of the head with the metal water pitcher and she slid his firearm free and took the extra ammo but left his cell. She slid out of the door closing it behind her and flipped the safety off. She had to get out she only had this one chance.

-At NCIS HQ then-

Ducky had called Abby when Miyu hadn't shown up to his lab by lunch. Abby had told him she hadn't seen her since the day before Abby told ducky she was calling Gibbs and hung up. Gibbs phone rang as they climbed into the car. "Abby?" It was a few moments later when he hung up they saw the anger in his eyes. "Boss?" Tony asked. "Miyu's missing Ducky said she never showed up to his lab, and when he called Abby at lunchtime to see if she was there Abby told him she hadn't seen her since yesterday." It took them a record time to get back the the yard. As they combed the office they found Miyu's phone laying on the floor near the elevator along with the papers Gibbs had given her to take to Ducky that morning. " Miyu would never leave her phone behind, she about bit my head off for moving it this morning." Tim said as he picked up the phone with gloves. The spent the day looking for clues about where she could have gone including searching the entire building when a guy walked past noticing McGee holding the phone. He told Tim that he'd seen a pair of suits carrying the woman who owned that phone out of the building and putting her into the back of an SUV. Tim called the team over and had the guy repeat his story but Gibbs asked the final question. "When did this happen?" the guy thought. "About 9 o'clock this morning bout ten minutes of so after you guys left." They went over the footage of the bull pen and Gibbs fingers clenched when they watched Keller and her goons grab Miyu, They saw them throw her into a SUV a few minutes later in the south parking lot and drive out of the gate.

"What do we do now? The FBI has her and we have no idea where they could have taken her." Tim said as he replayed the footage again looking for anything they could use to find the missing woman. As they sat around in the bullpen Ziva noticed Tony staring at the can of root beer, he'd brought back for Miyu. Ziva turned her head to look at Tim he seemed lost in another world fingers resting on his keyboard, unmoving as his mind was spinning out of control. The next three days were each harder then the last as the lack of Miyu's laughter and humor weighed on the team, Gibbs was in Mtac with the director as they talked to the head of the FBI. "I will not return the woman until I have what I want from her, Director Shepperd. I want this Iron Eagle!" the directors continued to argue for over an hour before the man simply refused to return her and hung up on them. Gibbs went down to Ducky's lab and noticed that the spot on the far corner of Ducky's desk was cleared off and there were files placed nearby as if to expect someone's return. He saw Ducky making a pot of tea looking at the empty seat. "It seems as if she's impacted our lives so easily." Gibbs said as he leaned against the counter, Ducky turned to him his eyes slightly misty. "Its strange in just the last two weeks she has affected or changed everything she's touched, but with out her it seems to be disturbingly quiet around here." Gibbs left a few minutes later to return to the bullpen and watch the video again trying to find something, anything he could use to find the woman.

-With Miyu (day 3)-

Miyu had successfully made it out of the safe house and out into the falling night she found the closest store and asked for directions to the navel yard. After that she took off and managed to bum enough money to take the bus most of the way but got off when she noticed that a man was watching her. After she got off the bus and started to walk she noticed him again and she bolted, her long legs widening the gap as he chased her over the bridge. He yelled to a man wearing a yellow jacket in front of her. "Stop her!" She shifter her weight and danced around him but losing her sweater in the struggle luckily for her the gun was at the base of her back. "Shit she's quick" Miyu ran for hours this way and that, back tracking and crisscrossing until she was sure she had lost the men. After jumping the ravine and scaling the tree she sat in the darkness the branch wide and sturdy as she cried silently rocking back and fourth. She was cold and hungry she curled up as tight as she could to keep herself warm. Miyu had never felt so afraid not even the night Kitty had died. _Semper Fi! _A voice rang in her head. She jolted slightly and her back cracked. She smiled slightly she had beaten the FBI at there own game, now she would have to sneak back to her friends with out being caught. With that Miyu tried to rest until morning when she climbed down the tree, asked directions to a cyber cafe that was open used one of their computers to map-quest the safest route back to her new friends. Miyu wasn't stupid she had made sure not to use her real name or allow people to get a really good look at her, As Miyu's fingers flew across the key board she was trying to figure out a plan. _So, I can't get back into the navel yard with out getting caught....But what about Tim's apartment? I think I could make it there or maybe try to call someone. _Miyu's mind was spinning as she looked over maps of the area around the yard, she typed in the addresses she knew of the group and came up with a plan. She printed out a map and walked out the back door to the cafe, her red braid flowing behind her.

-With Miyu now (day 6)-

Miyu was walking through the rain, the sun had set hours ago and it was getting colder. She stopped under a tree and carefully pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, she unfolded it her eyes taking in her surroundings before she refolded the paper and kept going. But this time she remained off the sidewalk and in the shadows of the trees lining the road. She pushed herself into a run trying to get her body to warm up, Miyu hadn't slept in three days as she made her way across the city towards sanctuary. Miyu couldn't remember ever hurting this much, every bone felt like it had been broken. It was over an hour later when she finally saw her destination ahead of her, Miyu's soul ached fiercely as she approached the den ahead of her. Miyu snuck around to the back door and searched around for a key, which she found under a nearby flowerpot. The key was rusty but it opened the lock and Miyu slipped in out of the rain locking the door behind her, Miyu hid herself with great care making sure not to disturb anything that would be noticed right away. And with that Miyu drifted into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Gibbs walked through his front door after being told by Jenny if he didn't go home for some sleep she'd make him take a vacation, it was nearly 3am. Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't a happy man as he walked into his basement heading for his tools, when he noticed that one of the tarps had been dragged into the boat. He pulled his gun and reached out for the edge of the tarp, before yanking it back startling its inhabiter into a yelping. Guns pointed before the two actually saw one another, frightened emerald eyes bet relieved blue. "Gibbs!" Miyu's tired raspy voice cracked as she threw herself at him. "Miyu? how in the hell...." He caught her against his body, he could feel her shivering and shaking. " Your soaking wet, go upstairs and get a hot shower or you'll get sick"Miyu looked up at him tears running down her face, as a small smile crossed her face. "I'll have McGee bring your stuff here, go on to the shower with you." She asked him to sit out side the door so she wouldn't feel alone while he called the others. Ducky was finishing a report when the phone rang, he pocked it up and placed it against his shoulder. "Hello Dr. Mallard speaking." Gibbs voice startled him. "Ducky, Get the others and come to my house I found something you need to see. And bring your med-bag." It took Ducky all but 15 minutes to get everyone into Jimmy's truck and as they drove Tony was asking questions. "Why would the boss call you and not us?" Ducky replied exasperated as Jimmy drove. "I have no idea Anthony but I know this what ever it is he wanted no one but us to know." When they arrived Gibbs led them into his basement and told them to wait, as he disappeared back up stairs. Gibbs knocked on a door before sticking his head in, Miyu stood there in a tank-top and a pair of boxers. "Who's are these Gibbs?"He chuckled before answering. "Tony's, their here come on." He led her down the stairs back towards the basement her bare feet making surprisingly no sound across his floors.

Miyu allowed Gibbs to lead her down the stairs to see the backs of the people who were becoming more and more important in her life. "Hi" they whirled around to see the missing member of the team. Miyu was surprised when Tony walked forwards and tugged her against him for a back-cracking hug, which she returned. "Mi-yu." She felt a few drops hit her neck as she pulled him closer. "Tony...." A few minutes later he passed her to Ducky. "Ducky!" She cried as the man held her face checking the small bruises and scratches she had from four days ago. "Miyu my dear, you are grounded to the lab." that made Miyu laugh as she kissed his cheeks, before turning and hugging Jimmy. Turning to the final male member of the crew she looked at him, her tears flowing steadily. "Tim!" She yelled as she embraced him her head burrowing into his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist, hers over his shoulders. "Miyu" he whispered into her ear as she relaxed against him. Her fingers gently explored the back of his neck, a peaceful smile on her face. She even hugged Ziva a moment before returning to hug Tim again. "I'm tired an hungry, Tim." the laughter of the group soothed Miyu's raw nerves, as she was ushered up the stairs and into Gibbs' bed. She snuggled into the covers before reaching out for Tim's hand, her fingers trembling slightly. "Stay please?" He nodded shed his gun, badge, jacket and shoes before crawling on top of the covers next to her. "I'll be right here" She smiled and snuggled against him her fingers threading through his, as her head rested over his heart. Tony noticed McGeek laying cuddled up with Miyu and decided he wanted a nap. Gibbs was wondering where half his team was, he and Ziva went up stairs with Duck and jimmy right behind them. They opened the door to reveal Tony was curled up to Miyu's back his arm resting over her waist, while she was curled up to Tim with a smile on her face.

Gibbs gave Tony a three hour nap before sending Ziva in to get him,Ziva was surprised when Miyu grabbed her hand before she could shake Tony's shoulder. "What Ziva?" Her voice was still raspy but stronger then earlier. "Gibbs wants Tony" Miyu let her hand go before tapping Tony's hip, one blurry brown eye opened. "Hmm? Miyu what is it?" Miyu smiled at him, her fingers patting his hand. "Gibbs wants you Tony." Tony got up and walked down stairs rubbing his eyes. "Yes boss?" Gibbs gave him the evil eye and Tony sat on the couch. Jimmy was barely awake and kept shaking himself awake. "Go upstairs Mr. Palmer your exhausted."Jimmy nodded and said good night before stumbling towards the bedroom. Jimmy crawled into Tony's vacated spot and crawled under the blankets after doffing his shirt and shoes, he curled up to the warm softness and buried his face against a soft shoulder. As he drifted off to sleep his last thought made him smile. _Miyu I have no idea what life will be like if anything happens to you. Please don't leave us. _


End file.
